Talosian
The Talosians were an aged, cerebral, sentient, humanoid species native to Talos IV in the Talos star group. ( ) Talosians were once a technologically advanced culture but a nuclear holocaust left their planet virtually uninhabitable and killed most of the species. The survivors of the nuclear war congregated in underground dwellings, where they became dependent on their mental ability to create stunningly real illusions, an ability that had been developed by their ancestors. As their mental powers grew, they lost the ability to use the technology left behind by their ancestors. The Talosians found that life using illusion was addictive, almost like a human developing a physical and psychological dependence on narcotics. They became bored with the content of the illusions which they had. Their dependence upon these illusions for mental stimuli caused the Talosians to begin capturing space travelers to use as the living basis for their illusions. In 2236, the , carrying members of the American Continent Institute from Earth, crashed on Talos IV. All aboard were killed, save for one human; a badly-injured female named Vina. The Talosians repaired her injuries, but the work left her disfigured, as the Talosians were unfamiliar with Human anatomy. Using their powers of illusion, Vina could live as if she was uninjured and was made to appear abnormally beautiful. In 2254, the Talosians captured Captain Christopher Pike and attempted to use him to re-build their civilization. The Talosians hoped that Pike would be attracted to her and wish to stay on Talos. However, after assimilating the records of the Enterprise, the Talosians learned that Humans have a "unique hatred of captivity;" even when made as pleasant as possible, Humans prefer death. This made Humans unsuitable to the Talosians for breeding stock, and Pike and his crew were released. The Talosians refused Pike's offer of trade and mutual understanding, claiming that Humans would use their powers of illusion to their own destruction. After Vina's true appearance was revealed, she was given back not only her illusion of beauty, but an illusory Pike to keep her company. ( ) This same compassion would be shown thirteen years later, as Pike's former science officer, Commander Spock, would collaborate with the Talosians (defying Starfleet general orders and illegally taking command of the Enterprise) and bring Pike, himself a prisoner of his own body after an accident involving delta rays, back to Talos IV so that he could live out the rest of his life virtually free from his useless body. ( ) People * List of Talosians Background The Talosians were the first alien encountered in Star Trek (while Spock was the first non-human featured, his species was not mentioned), appearing in the earliest TOS production, . In order to make them seem more alien, the producers and Gene Roddenberry decided to cast the roles to females, and then dub male voices over the footage. A similar trick was used again with the Sphere Builders in Star Trek: Enterprise. The same casting trick was used much later, in another of Gene Roddenberry's (posthumous) TV series, Earth: Final Conflict, where the Taelons were all played by female actors. Incidentally, the Taelons bear a striking resemblance to the Talosians. Interestingly, a small action figure of what appears to be a Talosian was seen on Rain Robinson's desk in 1996 in the Voyager episodes and . According to an early script for , the Talosians discovered B-4 drifting in space. It is likely that Shinzon acquired B-4 from them. The Talosians are similar in many ways to the underground mutants of the series. Both are subterranean survivors of nuclear disaster with impressive mental abilities which include the power to create thoughts and images in the minds of others. A Talosian was to cameo in . It was redesigned by Crist Ballas, and was made into a prosthetic by Barney Burman and the Proteus Make-up FX Team. http://metamakeup.deviantart.com/art/Talosian-124418460 de:Talosianer es:Talosianos fr:Talosien it:Talosiano ja:タロス Category:Species